Sonal Dabral, managing partner, India, and head of creative for Asia, Bates141, is all set to move back to India. He has been based out of Singapore since 2004, taking on the role at Bates in 2007.
On the reason for the move, Dabral said, “I’ve always had this dual role with responsibilities for India and Asia. The role remains the same, but till now I was handling my India responsibilities out of Singapore (I used to visit India every month). It'll be the other way around now. The move was always on the cards; it’s just that I was looking for the right time for it because the initial part was to get the leadership right in various markets, which has happened. Now the time has come to make a difference in one of the most important markets for us, which is India, both in terms of business and the kind of work we can achieve here that can set the tone for the rest of the region.” He added that his focus would be on building both existing and new businesses in India, and to re-energise the team. "We are a change agency, and with an eye on change, we want to do work that is provocative enough to create new conversations," he said.
Dabral’s move will be effective from the third week of July.